Fairytale Book



Each year our kindergarten team does a unit on fairytales. I love teaching with fairytales. There are so many ways to incorporate math, science, and social studies along with reading and writing.

This year we had so much going on at the end of the year that I did not have time for all of the activities I usually plan. The activities I ended up using mainly focused on comprehension and writing skills. I hope to post the math, science, and social studies activities in the future.

I like to put my students' writing and art projects together into a book. They love getting their books at the end of the unit. They are so excited to look through the work they've done,  and share it with their friends (it's so sweet to watch them look through it with friends while they're waiting in the car line) and family.

After we read each story I have my students write about it. Then they create an art project to go with their writing.

I got the idea for this art project for The Three Little Pigs from Mrs. Hicks(http://hicks-thealphabetgarden.blogspot.com/2011/07/math-offices.html). The students chose whether they wanted to build their houses with  hay, sticks (toothpicks) or bricks.

They made a glass slipper and pumpkin to go with their Cinderella writing. A very sweet parent made these patterns for me several years ago.



They created the main character from Little Red Riding Hood for this page of their book. I would like to create a Big, Bad Wolf and Granny pattern to go with it for next year's book.

For their Hansel and Gretel page they made a gingerbread house. They used foam pieces that I had bought at Michael's (they were super cheap after Christmas) and paper pieces that I cut using my

Cri-cut.  This is another idea I stole  borrowed from Mrs. Hicks (http://hicks-thealphabetgarden.blogspot.com/2011/07/math-offices.html).

This is the art that they did for the Princess and the Frog. We watched the Disney movie, and read a storybook. The two versions were very different. I plan to include a compare and contrast activity with this story next year.

I have not done a page for Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs before. However, since my costume for our fairytale ball was going to be Snow White I wanted to include a page in their books. I came up with this art project at the last minute, and I really love it! My students loved making the sparkly apples (with the help of some super 4th and 5th grade helpers) too!

Up Next: Our Kindergarten Fairytale Ball

Eric Carle Unit: The Very Hungry Caterpillar- Part 3

Throughout our Eric Carle Unit we study the lifecycles of plants and the different insects in the stories we read.  This is our activity for the lifecycle of a butterfly.



I have a pattern for the circle, which the students trace and cut out.  The different stages of the life cycle are on a strip of paper. I have the students color the pictures and cut them apart. Then they glue the pictures on the background paper. I punch a hole in the circle and use a brad to fasten it to the paper.

 

                                            

Up Next: Our Fairytale Books

Eric Carle- The Very Hungry Caterpillar Part 2

During our Eric Carle unit we always try to incorporate math.

This is a time activity I got from one of my co-workers. The children cut out the apple. Then they draw a picture of the caterpillar on the apple.  We read the script together, and figure out where we need to draw the hands on the clock. I glue this page into the Eric Carle books we make.

We concentrate a lot on adding in the spring. I try to make adding practice sheets with art that goes along with the unit we are working on. I used the practice pages below during this unit.

 

Up Next: Eric Carle Unit- The Very Hungry Caterpillar Part 3

Eric Carle Unit- The Very Hungry Caterpillar Part1



Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar is one of my favorite books. I remember reading it with my little brother when we were children, and I enjoy sharing it with my students now. We have so much fun reading the book and learning about caterpillars and butterflies.

First we read the story. We talk about the days of the week as we read the story. The students love predicting how many pieces of fruit The Very Hungry Caterpillar will eat next.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Pre-Writing

After we read the story we write about it. The students use this pre-writing sheet to organize their thoughts. They write one sentence about the story in each box. I work with them to edit their writing on the pre-writing sheet. Then they copy their sentences onto story writing paper and draw an illustration.

The next thing we do is create an interpretation of the cover. Their caterpillars turned out so cute. Unfortuntaly, I forgot to take pictures before sending them home, so I am  using a photo of the sample.

We also create butterfly art. This sample was done a few years ago using paint. This year I had my students use tissue paper to decorate their butterflies. They turned out so beautifully. I really wish I had taken pictures.

Terrific Tissue Paper Squares

I want to add that I used pre-cut tissue paper squares on our butterflies. I love these! I don't have to spend time cutting tissue paper, they are uniform in size, and it cuts down on scraps. Plus they come in variety packs so you get a lot of colors. I purchased mine at Michael's. I'm not sure if they still sell them, but you can buy 5000 squares for $6.00 at Oriental Trading.

Up Next: Eric Carle Unit- The Very Hungry Caterpillar Part 2

Buzz Words Activity



One of my students brought animal crackers for our snack. They came in this cute bear container. I could not "bear" the idea of throwing it out (and I could not resist that pun). I just knew I could come up with a use for it.  I decided to use it for a sight word game to go along with the Honey Bee and the Robber.

I made these cards, which I will print on card stock and laminate. The cards will go inside of the bear. The students will pull out a card. If they pull a sight word they will read the word. If they read it correctly they can keep the card. If they do not read it correctly they will need to put it back into the container. If they pull a "buzz" card they have been stung and will have to put all of their cards back into the container.

Buzz Words

I am going to cut out the title, which is at the bottom of the document, to fit over the label on the container.

I was not able to get this activity completed in time to use with our unit this year, but I can't wait to use it next year! I plan to create more cards to help fill up the bear container. I will post an update on this activity in the future.

Up Next: Eric Carle- The Hungry CaterpillarT

Summer Vacation!



Wow!  I can't believe the school year is over. It was a very busy and exciting year. Now it's time to relax a little and begin preparing for the new group of students that are coming in August.

I know it's been several weeks since I've posted. I don't know about you, but the end of the school year is always super busy for me. Finishing up student scrapbooks, handwriting our report cards, and preparing for awards day fills the last few weeks of school. Packing up the room so the custodians can wax our floors (I love coming back to shiny new floors!), and completing end of the year paper work also keeps  me running. There was little time for blogging over those few weeks.

After school let out I spent the first week of vacation cleaning my apartment and getting ready for vacation. Then it was off to New York City, where I boarded the Caribbean Princess for a nine day cruise! I took this picture from the balcony of my stateroom. So exciting!



I wish that every summer break could begin this way! I had such a fab time. I will be posting more about my cruise on my home blog (http://addictedtosparkling.blogspot.com/).

Now that I am relaxed I feel ready to begin preparing for the new school year. Before I begin posting ideas for the start of the year, I am going to catch up on some things I wanted to post at the end of the year. Over the next week I will be posting the end of our Eric Carl Unit. I will also be posting on our fairytale unit.

Up Next:  The Honey Bee and the Robber  Sight Word Game (Finally! J)

Insect Song

My intention was for my next post to be a post on a Honey Bee and the Robber word game, but I am still working on that post. While I'm finishing up I thought I'd share a little song I wrote to help my students remember the parts of an insect. We sing it to the tune of  "I'm a little Tee Pot"

I'm a Little Insect 

I'm a little insect, I have six legs

a thorax, and abdomen, and a head

If you count my body parts you will see

I'm an insect, I have three!

I've used this with my class for a few years, and they love it! The first year I used it we went on a fieldtrip to the botanical gardens in our area. Our tour guide started to tell our class that insects have three body parts. My students quickly rattled off the parts before she could get a word in. Then they sang the song. Needless to say I was one proud teacher!